Physics 31 2–36 In a Compton-effect experiment in which the incident

Solution to HW #2 x-rays have a wavelength of 10.0 pm, the scattered x-rays at

Spring, 2012 a certain angle have a wavelength of 10.5 pm. Find the
2–22 The smallest angle of Bragg scattering in potassium momentum (magnitude and direction) of the corresponding
chloride (KCl) is 28.4◦ for 0.30 nm x-rays. Find the distance recoil electrons.
between atomic planes in potassium chloride.
We’ll use the notation given in Fig. 2.22 in the text. Start
Use the Bragg condition to solve for d: by using the basic Compton scattering formula to find the
scattering angle φ of the x-ray photon:
nλ
2d sin θ = nλ ⇒ d = . λ − λ
2 sin θ λ − λ = λC (1 − cos φ) ⇒ cos φ = 1 −
λC
Since the angle given is said to be the smallest scattering 10.5 − 10.0
angle, n = 1, and cos φ = 1 − = 0.7939 ⇒ φ = 37.45◦ .
2.426
0.30 nm
d= = 0.315 nm = 3.15 × 10−10 m. Now write the equations that express conservation of the x
2 sin 28.4◦ and y components of momentum. These are essentially the
same as Eqns. 2.16 and 2.17 in the text, except we use λ
2–26 How much energy must a photon have if it is to have instead of ν for the x-ray (νλ = c).
the momentum of a 10 MeV proton?
h h
=  cos φ + p cos θ
The momentum of the proton and that of the photon are λ λ
the same, so call that value p. For the proton, h
0 =  sin φ − p sin θ

λ
p2
Eproton = ⇒ p = 2mp Eproton The two unknowns are the electron momentum vector’s mag-
2mp
nitude p and angle θ; φ, λ, and λ are known. Solve the
and for the photon, second equation for p,
p = Ephoton /c. h sin φ
p= .
λ sin θ
Equating the expressions for p,

Now substitute this expression into the first equation (and
Ephoton = c 2mp Eproton cancel the factor of h):

= c 2mp (107 eV)(1.602 × 10−19 J/eV 1 1 sin φ cos φ sin φ
=  cos φ +  cos θ = +  cot θ
= 2.196 × 10−11 J = 137 MeV λ λ λ sin θ λ λ
Solve for cot θ:
2–28 A monochromatic x-ray beam whose wavelength is λ
55.8 pm is scattered through 46◦ . Find the wavelength of cot θ = − cot φ = 0.4212 ⇒ θ = 67.2◦ .
λ sin φ
the scattered beam.
Substitute back to get p (careful with units):

λ − λ = λC (1 − cos φ) ⇒ λ = λ + λC (1 − cos φ) . (6.626 × 10−34 ) sin 37.45◦

p= = 4.16 × 10−23 kg m/s
(10.5 × 10−12 ) sin 67.16
Substituting λC = 2.426 pm leads to

λ = 55.8 pm + 0.74 pm = 56.5 pm 3–2 Find the de Broglie wavelength of (a) an electron whose
speed is 1.0 × 108 m/s, and (b) an electron whose speed is
2.0 × 108 m/s.

We have to use the relativistic momentum for v/c ∼ 13 :

h h h

λ= = = 1 − v 2 /c2 .
p γmv mv
Substituting, we obtain

λ = 6.86 × 10−12 m for v = 1.0 × 108 m/s

λ = 2.71 × 10−12 m for v = 2.0 × 108 m/s

February 2, 2012
 3–6 Find the de Broglie wavelength of a 1.00 MeV proton.
Is a relativistic calculation needed?

Try using the classical formulas and see what the speed v
turns out to be.
p2 √
E= ⇒ p = mv = 2mE
2m


p = 2(1.673 × 10−27 kg)106 eV × 1.602 × 10−19 J/eV
= 2.315 × 10−20 kg m/s
For this p, v = p/m = 1.38 × 107 m/s = 0.046c, which is
small enough to use the classical formulas. Therefore,
h 6.626 × 10−34
λ= = = 2.86 × 10−14 m = 28.6 fm
p 2.315 × 10−20
One can get the same result with the relativistic formulas.
Start with the relativistic E–p relation,


E = (pc)2 + (mc2 )2 .
The 1.00 MeV given is the KE of the proton; for the total
energy we must add the rest energy mc2 . It’s convenient to
take the mass of the proton as 938.28 MeV/c2 . Then
E = 1.00 MeV + mc2 = 1.00 + 938.28 = 939.28 MeV
Now solve for pc from the E–p relation:



pc = E 2 − (mc2 )2 = 939.282 − 938.282 = 43.33 MeV
Converting MeV to Joules and dividing by c leads to
p = 2.31 × 10−20 kg m/s,
which is essentially the same as the classical result above.
The wavelength h/p will be the same, too.
3–8 Find the kinetic energy of an electron whose de Broglie
wavelength is the same as that of a 100 keV x-ray.

Let p be the momentum of the electron and E be the

energy of the x-ray. The wavelength expressions are
h hc
λ= (electron), λ= (x-ray).
p E
Equating, we see that
pc = E or p = E/c.
Now the task is to find the kinetic energy of the electron.
Nonrelativistically, we can write
p2 E2 (0.1 MeV)2
KE = = = = 9.78 keV.
2m 2mc2 2 × 0.511 MeV
Relativistically, the kinetic energy is the difference between
the total energy and the rest energy:

2
KE = (mc2 ) + (pc)2 − mc2 .
We already showed that pc = E, so


KE = (0.511 MeV)2 + (0.1 MeV)2 − 0.511 MeV
= 9.69 keV